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Diabetes : The Policy Puzzle

The European Coalition for Diabetes (IDF Europe, FEND, PCDE and EURADIA) has once again joined forces to publish this 4th edition of the Policy Puzzle at a time when Europe is still faced with the growing epidemic of diabetes, despite considerable and increasing political awareness of the health risks of diabetes and the realisation that the disease is largely preventable.

The report reveals that, while diabetes treatment and prevention have improved across Europe, progress is simply to slow and too limited to stem the tide of diabetes. It also highlights the urgent need for more sustained and coordinated action to improve the implementation and evaluation of policies to act on diabetes.

Key Findings - Diabetes in Europe: Policy Puzzle, 4th ed.

30 countries out of 47 have a national plan covering diabetes, and 10 more have announced such a plan for the near future.

Implementation and evaluation are major weaknesses of these plans.

The Czech Republic is the only country in the region that includes a strong monitoring and evaluation system in its national plan.

The Czech Republic is also the only country to assess the cost-effectiveness of the measures within its plan

Prevention policies: Greece is the only country that reports monitoring and measuring the impact of its prevention policies, as well as assessing their cost-effectiveness.

Prevention also remains poorly funded throughout Europe. This is a lost opportunity here, as over 70% of type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or delayed by adopting healthier lifestyles.